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-   -   Suzuki Kizashi - Should I or shouldn't I? UPDATE: Got a Passat! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/luxury-imports-niche/114240-suzuki-kizashi-should-i-shouldnt-i-update-got-passat-3.html)

Hi,

My uncle owns a Kizashi,and i have seen,inspected and been driven in that car a lot of times.It was the same case in his family,he was upgrading from a Civic,and wanted a driver's car.Drove the Kisazhi and loved it.Everyone in the family baulked at the idea of spenidng 18 -19 big ones on a "maruti",but he went ahead anyway.

Its has been 2 months since he bought,and he is all smiles! He is usually chauffeur driven to office everyday with that car,but a month back the driver suddenly decided to leave work.Left in a lurch,he decided to us hire cars or cabs till he got a new driver.After a few days of hassles with those hire cars,he gave driving himself to office a try,and he liked it,said it was an absolutely wonderful car to drive,small and compact to for city driving,nice light steering.Now after a got a driver he makes the driver sit on the passenger seat and drives himself,asking the driver to only park.

Oh yes,if you are wondering who suggested him a kisazhi in the 1st place it was me.:)My mom,aunt,his son all are a bit lukewarm to the car(maruti and all),but i love it.Looks so good on road and in person,and has such an excuslivity factor.People waking by the house always give the kisashi a second look.

I have not driven it so cant comment on that,but the engine is very refined,build quality is top notch,the car feels extremely sure footed but masks its speed well.More germanic in character than Japanese.

I am attaching a few pics of the car if you dont mind.

I have test driven the Kizashi, it is very nice car. But I wouldn't buy it because I already have a similar car with zero resale value.

Exactly, I have an unique qualification to comment here.:) I own a Grand Vitara, which is similar to Kizashi in lot of ways. Grand Vitara is also a Suzuki CBU, which became a market dud for not having diesel engine. Every market parameter that applies to Kizashi, applies to GV.

In my 4+ years of ownership, not once I needed to leave the vehicle in the workshop due to breakdown or lack of parts. When I needed part replacement due to extensive bad road driving, I could wait until the part really went bad and then order replacement. Since I live in a small town, parts usually take 20-30 days to arrive from Delhi. You may have faster delivery in Mumbai. Another GV owner (GRV) on the forum, replaced the very first part of his GV after 52,000kms of good road driving, and it was the tyres. The most famous GV owner (sudev) on the forum must have crossed 200,000kms on his GV by now. All our vehicles feel like new even now.

Such is the quality of Suzuki CBU cars. And Maruti service does a great job of keeping the car in good shape despite being a very low volume CBU. The consumables are all same as SX4, which is a great relief. The service cost is also very low, even less than my i10. I don't think you need to fret about service quality or cost unlike Skoda owners.

But look from another point of view. The chances of Kizashi needing to sit in the workshop is lot lesser than Laura.:D

The Grand Vitara may be a market dud, but the car itself is hardly a dud. Have you seen an unhappy GV owner on this forum? That surely counts for something.

I Chief, looks like your heart was already set on Kizashi even before you started this thread :). Don't worry it happens to a lot of us.

THe Kizashi has been a market dud. It is one of those rare Suzukis that never moved out of the showrooms. But it does not mean it is a poor product. Being a CBU, Maruti was never going to be competitive with this one. And being a petrol in a diesel driven market seems to be the final nail in its coffin. Which is good news for YOU. You seem to be getting a terrific deal from the dealer.

I really haven't driven one, so can't comment on the drive. You seemed to like the way it drives. But what about your TD impressions of the other options? There is a distinct difference in the feel of the drive of the Japs and Euros. There are a lot of Euro options for you in this price bracket. Please do TD them before you take the plunge.

Congratulations for owning the first Kizashi on TBHP. A good decision in the end specially when you factor in 2 things: You love the car and the dealer gave you a handsome discount.

Looking forward to your ownership report and lots of pictures.

Not that Kizashi is bad car or have met people who have commented negative, but, to me, spending upwards of 15 lakhs on a Suzuki product, doesn't quite add up :D when there are better and popular models available in this range.
Problem with these snail models are that they reach their product life cycle pretty quickly and demand time and money for spares! Also, cause a severe dent on the resale value!

Congratulations!

If I could afford one I would own a Kizashi - it is the only driver's car in India at that price range that can be expected not to have occasional European prima donna tantrums of insisting on a flat bed truck ride.

Do start an ownership thread when you can and keep us posted.

Regarding: "It's as good a market dud as the Grand Vitara.": I was seriously evaluating the GV and did enough research. The GV is a market dud only in India because of different reasons - nothing to do with the vehicle's capabilities or quality.

But a depreciation disaster it is for sure. But that doesn't matter to you...so happy driving!

Most say why spend ~20L for a Maruti?

Why not pay ~20L for sheer exclusivity? Its rare than even Volvos. I am yet to spot one (save the one standing at the dealership)

If it handles better than the RS (as numbers, out on the road don't mean much) I would be game if I were in the market.

@Samurai, really thankful for your comments, not just because of the positive comments of support but because your comments have washed away the little hesitation I had at the back of my mind.

@ all the rest of you wonderful folks, I have driven the Laura and the new vRS and I cannot deny the fact that they are cars to drool for but just the fact of after salse support always on the mind spoils the experience and as for picking a used car, I am just one of the stupid examples who does not like to touch other peoples things and I have had my fair share of bitter experiences in life buying used cars and so will always buy a fresh brand new car, bike etc.

I guess another reason that has me inclined towards the Kizashi is the experience I have had with Maruti and especially the dealership that is next to my house. I have known all the top guys including the owner of the dealership for a long time since I bought my first car from them around 10 years back and had bought my Baleno and Swift also from them.

My head says that there are better cars around like most of you but I think I have fallen in love with the Kizashi.

I plan to go through with the deal in the first week of Feb, so keep your eyes peeled for my entire buying experience with every nitty gritty detail including photographs of my other possessions like the Japanese bird of prey and my trusty US Spec RD and drag RX135 5 speed, Yezdi etc etc...:)

@I Chief: I went in for the Elantra GLS against market sentiment, but 6 years down the line have no thoughts of selling and my family is in love with it; so will you with the Kizashi. By the way the quote is by Frank Lloyd Wright not White.

WHY is no one talking about the Renault Fluence ?.....its French and by most accounts our French cars, Linea & Palio have been good handlers.

I am not a fan of the fiat brand, but something about this seems off to me.
what's fiat's french connection?

:eek: Oops....Fiat is good old Italian, my bad !! Had a late night dropping my wife to the airport and still sleepy.

By all means I'd buy a kizashi over a skoda. There's absolutely no point supporting an unscrupulous company like skoda which loves to take its customers for granted.

The 2lac+ discounts are just an icing on the cake. In a few years when my cedia is due for replacement, this is the car which will be on top of my list for sure.

Other than resale value, I do not see anything else that is wrong with it.

That is so true.

Not to mention the monumental service-costs that Skodas, and most German cars are known for. The Kizashi, just like the Vitara, might have been market duds. But both these cars will give you trouble-free ownership for the most part, despite being priced on par with the Germans.

Which is why, I'm a bit baffled. What's stopping Toyota from bringing in Lexus, and what's stopping brands like Ininiti from setting up shop here. IMO, they would do really well here. Not only will they provide you with the same level of equipment and comfort that the German cars would, but also boast of fantastic and top-notch service and reliability.

And I sincerely hope Maruti begin to assemble the Kizashi here, not only for our market, but for other markets as well. Production costs could come down considerably, and the car will be cheaper to buy as well. :)

I think Maruti needs to rebrand the luxury cars or cars which cost more than 10Lakhs as a separate brand a la Toyota and Lexus, Nissan & Infinity. I agree with most of my fellow bhpians where in we think about shelling out 15+ Lakhs on a Maruti. I do have friends who have Suzuki GV's and they are hassle free cars with low upkeep costs. On the flip side, Kizashi would never give you the solid feel of the European cars.